Career

In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, Country Hoedown. The Tommy Hunter Show began as a CBC radio program in 1960 and went on to replace Country Hoedown on CBC Television in 1965; Hunter's show was picked up by TNN in 1983 and ran on CBC until 1992.

The book Cue the Elephant by Knowlton Nash (1996, McClelland & Stewart) featured some disparaging remarks from the show's make-up artist. "He could sell himself terrifically but there was no love lost between Tommy and the crew. Some of the guys loathed him ... Everybody made snide remarks behind Tommy's back ... people might say he was the biggest jerk in the world. But that was not my experience. For me, I saw a very easy down-to-earth manner. But Tommy does generate anti as well as pro feelings from people ... he didn't trust people around him, he became a monster to some."

People who performed on The Tommy Hunter Show early in their careers include:

• Garth Brooks
• Shania Twain, then known as Eileen Twain
• The Judds
• Alanis Morissette, when she was a country singer

After his show was cancelled by the CBC, Hunter continued to tour with his band, The Travelling Men. He retired after his final tour in 2012.

Awards and recognition

Tommy Hunter was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1986, Hunter was made a Member of the Order of Canada. He has received three Canadian Juno Awards and one Gemini Award. In 1990, he was given a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame's "Walkway of Stars". A street ("Tommy Hunter Way") was also renamed in his honour in his hometown of London, Ontario, in the late 1990s. He became a member of the Order of Ontario in 1996. In 2005 he was honored with a GMA Canada Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is handed out annually by the Gospel Music Association of Canada.

Tommy Hunter received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album
1964	Tommy Hunter
1968	Travelling with Tommy Hunter
1971	Time Slips Away
1973	Greatest Hits
1982	Tommy
1983	Tommy Hunter
1983	Gospel Readings and Recitations
1989	The Anniversary Sessions
1993	Sings for You
1994	Timeless Country Treasures
1995	Timeless Country Treasures Vol. 2

Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions			Album
1967	"Cup of Disgrace"	2	—	—	singles only
	"The Battle of the Little Bighorn"	2	—	—
	"Mary in the Morning"	1	—	66
1968	"Half a World Away"	2	—	—
	"Can't Find a Space"	13	—	—
1969	"Walk With Your Neighbour"	4	—	—
1970	"Wait for Sunday"	3	—	—
1971	"Bill Jones General Store"	4	15	—
1974	"The Departure"	33	—	—
	"Born to Be a Gypsy"	6	—	—
1975	"Love of a Good Woman"	32	—	—
1978	"The Great Mail Robbery"	33	28	—
1982	"Dance With Me Molly"	38	—	—	Tommy
	"Fool Enough to Fall in Love Again"	34	—	—
1989	"The Man of '87"	49	—	—	The Anniversary Sessions
1990	"Couldn't See the Gold"	19	—	—
	"Name the Place and Time"	64	—	—

[ Source: Wikipedia ]